Update: Thank You for Encouraging Your Senators to Fight Like Hell for Oregon's Public Lands!

After hearing strong bipartisan opposition, Senator Mike Lee of Utah has pulled a provision that would have mandated selling between 2 and 3 million acres of public lands across 11 Western states out of the Senate’s budget reconciliation bill.

In the original version, nearly 22 million acres in Oregon, would have been eligible to be sold.

Sparks Lake. Photo: Whitney Whitehouse

As reported in The New York Times, “A Public Lands Sell-Off Is Struck From the G.O.P. Policy Bill,” Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, has said he will withdraw his proposal after it faced intense intraparty opposition.

Central Oregon LandWatch thanks the many advocates from our region and across the country who ensured that the Senate’s version of the “one big beautiful bill” would not include a mandate that millions of acres of public land be sold off, with no community input or rules on what would be developed. 

The list of places at risk of privatization was extensive, as even Wilderness Study Areas, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, roadless areas and critical habitat were eligible to be sold to "any interested party."

If this bill language had become law, significant blocks of public lands would have been disposed of, and Oregon cities and counties would have been stuck saddling unexpected costs for infrastructure and other services as the administration attempts to sell out public lands for the benefit of private developers.